The Arctic Voyages of Francis Leopold McClintock

The Irish Naval Officer Francis Leopold McClintock participated in four voyages to the Canadian Arctic. The purpose of these voyages, which took place between 1848 and 1859, was to find the lost expedition of Sir John Franklin. In 1859, McClintock succeeded in unravelling the tragic fate of Franklin's expedition. This book reconstructs the searching expeditions with the help of (largely unpublished) sources. The result is a cultural history of everyday life on these voyages. The author looks at the daily routine, equipment, provisions, health, disciplinary measures, conflicts, meetings with Inuit and sledge journeys of the expeditions. She gives special attention to Francis Leopold McClintock's personality, position and development. The sources show a less engaging character than the biographies published about him: an ambitious, very determined man who had few scruples when the advancement of his career was concerned.